Armed Assault: Eostian Crisis
by KodokSangar
Summary: When CSAT executed a massive counter-invasion against the NATO forces in Altis, the entire combatant on the island suddenly found themselves teleported to Eostia, when the Black Dogs started invading the continent. With the arrival of the new factions, a new stage of conflict began with the Mercenary Queen and the Guerrilla Guy being the key to end it once and for all.
1. Survive: Revelation and Fated Meeting

**DISCLAIMER: ARMA series belongs to Bohemia Interactive while Kuroinu belongs to Liquid. I own nothing.**

* * *

" _When war is declared, Truth is the first casualty." -Arthur Ponsonby_

* * *

U.S. Army Sergeant Ben Kerry drove a stolen Tempest truck across the road of Island of Altis into the ancient ruins in grid 200200, the place where Lieutenant James told him to bring the device. "What the hell I've got myself into?" The Sergeant wondered aloud.

It had been months since the _Stratis incident_ when Altis Armed Forces also known as AAF launched a surprise attack against the Task Force Aegis, the US-led peacekeeping forces stationed in Stratis island, forcing the survivors of the extensive attack to fight alongside the FIA(Freedom and Independence Alliance) guerillas while cutting off communications to the outside world.

After months of lack of communication from the Task Force, NATO launched a counterattack against the AAF and its allies, revealed to be the 24th Mechanized Regiment of CSAT (Canton-Protocol Strategic Alliance Treaty) another major military alliance and NATO's greatest rival. The NATO managed to capture Stratis and its all-important airbase and securing a beachhead on Altis for the main NATO forces, composed mainly by the US 111st Infantry Division and 7th Mechanized Brigade and small elements from I Marine Expeditionary Force. The next day after a large bombardment by artillery and the clearing of CSAT and AAF AAA sites around the Airport, along with the cooperation with the FIA in the attack, the airport was secured and in the evening the NATO forces moved onto the capital, forcing the remaining AAF and CSAT forces into the northern peninsula. Just one final push remaining to end this conflict.

However, just before Kerry was about to regroup with NATO forces, he was contacted by a dying Lt. James, who pleaded Kerry to search for him.

Officially, Kerry is the sole survivor of the Task Force Aegis. All of his fellow surviving peacekeepers were killed during the lengthy of unsuccessful guerilla warfare in Stratis and the failed attempt to escape to Altis where Altis Air Force fighters blew their boats to kingdom come.

However, that's what the official report stated. In fact, there were more NATO survivors around. Those were the mysterious British special force group he had been working with. Lieutenant James was one of them.

Colonel David Armstrong, call sign _Crossroad_ , the leader of the NATO invasion force told Kerry that all British forces had moved off from Stratis many months ago prior the Start is Incident, making Kerry even more confused. Several weeks later, Armstrong informed him again that NATO MEDCOM had finished their investigation into the Incident and has confirmed the British special forces' identity. Armstrong deliberately withheld information about the UKSF to Kerry, saying it is highly-classified and urging him to avoid all contact with them much to his dismay.

Just before the final assault, Kerry disobeyed the order to regroup and went AWOL to find James. He later found him gravely wounded with several dead UKSF members at a checkpoint near a research facility after having a fire-fight with the elite CSAT special forces. James informed Kerry that Miller was waiting nearby in some ancient ruins in grid '200200' and asked him to deliver a truck with unknown contents in the research facility. James later died of his wounds before Kerry could ask him more about the situation. Kerry managed to fight his way through CSAT special forces at the facility, stole the truck, and drove off to the meeting point.

At the ruins, he saw several British special forces standing around, motioning him to drive closer. Hesitantly, Kerry drove the truck closer to the ruins, letting the Spec Ops check it. As the Sergeant disembarked from the truck he saw a middle-aged man with messy black hair and roughly shaved beard walked toward him. Kerry knew this guy. In fact, he was the leader of the mysterious UKSF, Captain Scott Miller.

 _"Miller…"_ He muttered under his breath.

"Ah, Kerry! You certainly do have a tendency to show up unexpectedly," Exclaimed Miller as he smiled and shook hands with Kerry

"Old habits die hard."

"Hmm, well, I'll take it from here," Replied the special force officer as he walked away from the young NCO.

As he approached the truck, Kerry called out."Not so fast! I think you owe me some answers."

Surprised by his sudden outburst, the captain stopped, turning to see the sergeant. "You'd do well to refrain from threatening me."

"This is what it's all about, isn't it? Stratis, Mike-26, the airport, everything. You sabotaged the whole invasion!" Kerry yelled angrily.

"We need more times…." Miller sighed. However, in his expression, there was no sign of feeling guilty for causing a conflict which killed hundreds if not thousands live.

Kerry understands now. From everything that happened, Kerry thought it wasn't a mere coincidence that the UKSF managed to survive the attack despite being in the base. The reason why AAF attacked the Task Force 'unprovoked', the sudden UKSF withdrawal from most of their guerilla operation, the sabotaged communications equipment at Air Station Mike-26, the reason he didn't stop the NATO from attacking the FIA in the airport that killed Stavrou, and the reason why Miller sounds so fishy every time he talked via comms. Everything was planned. The _Stratis Incident_ was caused by a false-flag operation, committed by Miller and his team.

"For what? To find this?" The sergeant pointed at the truck. "What is it?"

"It's classified," Miller's simple answer angered Kerry even more.

"Fuck you it is!"

"Kerry, I swear, once more and I'll drop you where you stand!" He threatened the young sergeant, pointing his finger at him. His finger gripped an MX 6.5mm rifle tightly. "Think about it. When was the last time this region experienced tremors like these? There's been at least a dozen in the last few days alone."

Miller was somewhat right. This unknown, AC-like device was probably the one that caused those fishy earthquakes. But still... "What? No…Miller, that's not good enough. I-"

"Question time's over!" Miller turned around, leaving the dumbfounded and furious American before a flight of 4 CSAT To-199 Neophron light attack aircrafts flew overhead, stopping him in his track.

 _"All units we've got multiple contacts approaching the northern coast!"_ Crossroad yelled from the radio, prompting Kerry to open the wide NATO channel. _"Stand by. We might have a problem here."_

"I'll tell you what," As explosions and gunfire sounded off in the distance, the captain told him again. "I like you, Kerry. If you're still here, I'll give you a way out."

"Things are about to get ugly. I'd suggest you keep your heads down," Miller finished, taking the truck with his team left the sergeant by himself.

Still shocked and tried to ingested everything that happened, Kerry listened to the chaos within the NATO force via the radio.

 _"All units, multiple hostile aircrafts inbound!"_

 _"This is Echo 2-1! I, confirmed! We're trying to p-"_

 _"Mayday! Mayday! Golf 4-1 is going down!"_

 _"Copy, 4-1!"_

 _"Crossroads, we are under heavy assault! We can't-"_

 _"1-1, say again! Over!"_

 _"All units! All units! Tactical withdraw! I say again! Get your guys out-"_

 _"_ Jesus Christ…." Kerry gasped. In just a few minutes, the hostile forces completely wiped out the NATO forces. Suddenly, the sound of rumbles got his attention. "Hmm?"

In a split second, a flash of lights blinded him as he hopelessly tried to cover his eyes.

"Holy-"

A surge of strong energy struck his entire body, causing everything around him to disappear and the young sergeant lost his consciousness.

* * *

Slowly opening his eyes, he felt soft winds greased against his skin. As he sat up and groaned, he checked his surrounding. His backpack and MX3GL assault rifle still by his side. His body was still clean from any wound just like before that flash.

He didn't know what the hell just happened. Kerry thought he know who was responsible for this. It's always them. "I'm blaming CSAT for…. What the literal fuck?"

He found himself in a vast, green expanse of the lushest, softest-looking grass he had ever seen. Tentatively reaching down to brush against the grass blades, his eyes trailed around the field he was on. Something alien and otherworldly to him who grew up in Oregon yet at the same time, fascinating. Sounds like something straight out from Tolkien's works.

"Where the hell is this…?" The young soldier gasped, upon realizing the coast of northern Altis nor the ruins are nowhere to be seen. The sergeant stood up, checking his radio and contacting Miller.

"Falcon, it's Kerry, do you read me?"

No response.

"I say again, Falcon, do you copy?"

"Goddammit, Falcon, do you read me?!" He tried to contact him for the last time to no avail, causing him to lose his temper.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! Fuck you, Miller! You son of a bitch!"

He hesitantly changed the channel to the NATO-wide channel. He knew if Crossroad is the one who hears his transmission, the colonel would throw him to the deepest shithole.

"Sergeant Kerry to all nearby units, does anyone read?" However, after more than a minute waiting for a response, the only thing he got was static. "Please respond! Anybody!"

And now, when there's no one answered, he knows he's more fucked up.

"Jesus-fucking-Christ…." The sergeant muttered. He held his head with both his hands, trying to calm himself. "Okay, stay calm, Ben. First thing first, check equipment."

Kerry began checking his equipment.

"Okay, I've got five six-five mags, three pistol mags, two frag grenades, four rounds of forty mike-mike, a smoke grenade, and a bunch of IFAKs. My compass and NVG works just fine, but there's no signal for the GPS."

After making sure all his equipment is accounted for, he began observing his surrounding.

"Everything is fine. Step 2, find the nearest settlement," He said to himself before noticing a hill in the north-west of his position. "Maybe, I can find something by getting on that hill."

He then smiled upon noticing a pick-up truck several meters behind him.

"Thank, God. There's a truck over there," He entered the truck which was in a worse condition with its left door lost and low on fuel but still working engine. He started the engine and began to drive the truck through the field of grass toward the hill.

This is going to be another misadventure of survival for Ben Kerry, also known as what the grunts called him, _The Guerrilla Man_.

* * *

Everything was burning. Every building she stared at was burning. The whole fortress city of Ansur was burning.

Maia, one of the Shield Princess and the former Black Dogs mercenary wildly swung her dual swords around, killing any mercenaries that dared to touch her and harm the group of civilians behind her.

She glared fiercely at the enemies, biting her own lips.

"This is just an insane joke of yours, right…. Volt?"

Centuries ago, within the continent of Eostia, a war broke after the black fortress appeared in the Badlands in the north of Eostia. The dark elves and monsters under the command of the Dark Elf Queen, Olga Discordia invaded Eostia, causing havoc on the continent.

After what seems like endless fights, this conflict managed to reach its final stages with the decline of the Dark Elf queen's power. Under the High Elf's calling, the _Seven Shields Alliance_ was formed to stand against the Legion. Their stronghold, the fortress city acted as the first bastion against the barbarians in the north.

The Alliance issued a request to the group of mercenaries which acted as the vanguards for an all-out-war to put an end to this conflict. They call themselves _Black Dogs_ and is being led by Vault, a veteran mercenary who had slain a countless enemy. He is also known for being a brilliant strategist and tactician.

However, the mercenaries that the Alliance called forth to fight for them now rebelled and betrayed the Alliance, turning against their former ally.

During the first time the Shield Princess of Ansur heard the news that the mercenaries began invading the land of Eostia and proclaimed the founding of the so-called _Sex Empire_ , she thought it was just some silly fake news by some drunkards in the inn. There's no way that Volt, the caring & friendly man that she admired and looked into did something unbelievable like this, right?

But, she was wrong. She was terribly wrong.

But despite that, she still tried to deny everything around here, until the Black Dogs, her former comrades, those who once she called as family set their eyes on the fortress city she swore to protect.

Maia panted heavily after fighting so many enemies by herself. Most of the troops and mercenaries that protected Ansur probably had been killed, captured, or even defected. She ordered those who survived to evacuate the civilian while she made a last stand to hold the invader. She must protect this city and its citizen no matter what.

She kept herself fighting against the seemingly countless enemy, forcing her already tired bodies to fight, until he noticed a large, muscular man with unkempt hair and beard marched toward her with a claymore in his back. His shirt and body armor had worn-out after years of fighting. The mercenary girl's eyes widened as she saw the man.

"Vault?"

"Yup, it's me, Maia," He glanced at the destruction around them and smiled sadly. "Quiet a bad place for a reunion, eh?"

Maia focused her attention to the large guy, glared fiercely at him. "What do you want, Volt? Why are you doing this?!"

"Of course, every one of our kinds, every mercenary knows why I did this," He told her patiently.

"For what? So you can satisfy your animalistic carnal desire?"

"Heh, it seems that so-called goddess and her cronies had festered your mind with those bullshit idealism and self-righteous thinking, making you forget your origin," That answer left her dumbfounded.

"What do you mean?" She asked, lowering her blades.

"Nevermind," The older mercenary sighed. He extended his hand to the girl. "I'll tell you about that if you come with me."

The girl gasped. Her thought went back to ten years ago when she was still a frail teen and inexperienced, she sat and wept helplessly on the battlefield after her legs were injured and her weapons thrown away. She watched her comrades fought bravely against Olga's henchmen before they were slain in those monster's hands. She was about to die when a monster raised its sword on her….until another mercenary blocked the attack with his claymore and killed that monster. He then turned around to see Maia and with a friendly grin, extended his hand.

However, something in her head clicked the wrong way.

The Vault in front of her isn't the same Vault she used to know.

"Never!" She snarled, pointing him with the edge of her blade.

"You're still as stubborn as ever, Maia…." Vault sighed. He then smirked evilly and yelled at his mercenaries. "Men, get her!"

All of the mercenaries gathered around them charged at the Shield Princess at the same time. As Maia braced for the attack, the sounds of repeated cracks were heard thundering behind her, causing her to flinch and covering her ears. She expected it must be the work of the enemy to distract her. But however, all of the men who attacked her suddenly dropped to the floor with their stomach bleeding.

"What the-" The other Black Dogs exclaimed before also being hit by an unknown force and slumped to the floor whilst holding their body where blood poured from.

The mercenary girl looked behind and saw a man in strange clothing hiding behind an alley with a...weird looking _crossbow_ aimed at the Black Dogs. That man must the one who responsible for those thundering cracks.

"Quick! Get over here!" He called out. Maia stared at the strange man as he connects some box under his _crossbow_ , then back to Vault who quickly retreated and has a completely shocked expression, even shocker than her. She saw a small bomb was thrown into the crowd of mercenaries, killing many of them with sickening blood and body parts thrown around. "There's no fucking time, come on!" The man shouted again as he fired another volley.

The Shield Princess quickly rushed toward the alley and hid behind the man as he threw another bomb into the mercenaries. This time, instead of exploding, it spewed dense , thick smokes that quickly covered the whole street. Thicker than any smoke bombs she had ever used.

"Let's go!"

The man quickly pulled her hand and ran deeper into the alleyway. Maia almost tripped because of how rough he pulled her.

"Tripwire! Jump!"

"E-eh?!" She yelped and jumped as he shouted, barely missing an almost invisible string. Looking behind her, she saw several Black Dogs pursuing her.

"Get the-" The alley behind her suddenly exploded. The Black Dogs who chased them screamed in agony as they got thrown like ragdolls.

The two ran across the alley. The alley in Ansur does look like a maze, giving them more advantage. They finally reached one of its ends which led to the market and shopping district. The young girl looked at the man who began to talk, but not to her.

"Red team! Green team! This is Kerry, if you had finished your job, regroup at Checkpoint Charlie as planned. How to copy?"

Maia didn't know who he's speaking with, but it seems he had telepathic magic because she noticed he held his ear as he speaks.

As they ran across the street, he roughly yanked her to the inside of a ransacked shop. They hid behind the counter, letting the mercenaries passed the shop. Breathing heavily, the mysterious man looked at her.

"Looks like they lost us," He told her, before noticing he unintentionally grasped her in the stomach which was exposed from her clothes, causing both of them to blush heavily. He quickly released her and recoiled away. "Um, sorry…."

With a still visible faint blush painted on his cheeks, he went to the back door. He opened it and checked the surrounding of the alley it led into with his 'crossbow' aimed before motioned Maia to follow him.

Using the chaos around them, they silently reached the southern defense wall where there was a small hole, enough for several people to cross if they crouched.

Maia crouched down, finally manage to escape Ansur. The man soon followed before they made their way deeper into the forest in the south of the city.

Maia noticed the man chuckled nervously. "To be honest, I hate forest, but Checkpoint Charlie is deep inside it. So-"

"Wait!" She called out. The man stopped in his track and stared at her. This time she can get a good look at this strange man who had saved her.

He wore a set of weird-looking clothes. His helmet isn't like anything she had ever seen because of its weird shape, the small tubes attached to its front, and the fact it did nothing to cover his face, exposing his young yet scarred face. His armor seems to be made from leather with many pockets attached to it. His shirt was mainly green and tan in color with some kind of brown and white patterns that looked like leaves and clouds.

A flag of black and white stripes with many stars on its upper-left corner printed on his left arm. He probably from some kind of guild or mercenary group since she never saw a country with that flag.

Maia snapped herself from her thought and pointed at the burning city. "The citizens! I can't leave them in the hands of those dogs!"

"Calm down, miss! Don't worry, my team is getting that covered. They are now escorting the citizens into the forest," The man said reassuringly before he sighed and continued. "But not all of them, sorry."

After he finished, he began to jog toward deeper into the forest, but the Shield Princess grabbed his arm, telling him to stop.

"What is it?" The man turned around with his voice raised, evidence that she had irritated him.

"My name is Maia, who are you? Why are you saving me? Why are you bother saving the citizens?"

"Is that your 'thank you' for getting you out from that clusterfuck of a shithole?" He countered her with another question, but Maia kept her stern face. She then noticed his lips curved upward as he replied not in his usual irritated tone, but in the playful one. "It's Ben Kerry. Let's just say….will you believe it if I told you that my little, peace-loving heart is the one who moved me?"

Maia wasn't sure what this man planned and the real reason he saved her and her peoples. But one thing is clear, that genuine, thin smile in that rough, bruised face told her that everything is going to be okay.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Finally, I did it. I don't really know what happened, but I did it. My hands wrote on itself. I don't know what just happened. God, pls forgive me….**

 **Anyway, this is going to be the second ARMA series crossover fanfic and my first ARMA 3 and Kuroinu fanfic. Sorry for my shit-ass grammar, English isn't my main language.**

 **For those of you who don't know, ARMA 3 is an open world, military simulation, tactical shooter video game developed and published by Bohemia Interactive. ARMA 3's storyline takes place in the 2035 during a military conflict after a civil war in fictional Mediterranean island country called 'Republic of Altis and Stratis' against 'Eastern coalition' referred to as Canton-Protocol Strategic Alliance Treaty (CSAT), led by a resurgent Iranian military with a coalition of other Middle Eastern and Asian nations. The main 'Eastwind' campaign was split into 3 parts; Survive, Adapt, and Win.**

 **I choose ARMA 3 instead of any other shooter games because of how underrated this game is despite having a pretty good campaign and great, 'realistic' game mechanics perfect for military simulation game for real men...and masochists. If you think you're good enough at Call of Duty, Battlefield, and CSGO, play this thing. Trust me, you'll cry in blood tears and beg for mercy('coz that happened to me, LOL).**

 **And, maybe many of you think I'm a weirdo for making a crossover with the Kuroinu series. Kuroinu is...well, Hentai anime split into 4 episodes of OVA adapted from an Eroge with the same title. It was recommended by my friend in real-life after I asked him about H anime with Fantasy-setting, big tiddies, and Ahegao. It kinda surprised me with the straightforward plot, good worldbuilding, and diverse interesting(and fapable) female characters. But well, I don't like the ending since I'm not into rape and I bet most author who had written Kuroinu fanfics share the same opinion with me. That's why I thought about 'What if (crippled) modern armies who were at war with each other suddenly teleported to Eostia?', and thus, this fanfic was born.**

 **I haven't read the VN because I 'ain't nobody got time for that'. But at least, thanks to Dante** Crailman **, the good guy who write a Fate x Kuroinu fanfic in this site, I got the bigger view of the world building and some hidden male characters. And about Maia having some kind of 'feeling' to Volt, if you rewatched Kuroinu OVA episode 3 and paid attention to Maia's part, you'll get what I mean.**

 **The story started during the 'Win' part of the campaign before the non-canon 'Game Over' ending where Kerry choose to find James, steal the Eastwind Device, and deliver it to Miller and his CTRG team instead of joining NATO's final offensive. It caused the NATO forces to cripple by a CSAT massive invasion who returned to retrieve the Eastwind Device. But instead of the NATO getting the floor wiped with their asses and Kerry struggled to escape the Island, some (un)natural phenomenon sent all combatants along with their ground and aerial assets in Altis to Eostia.**

 **Well, the fight with the Black Dogs won't be a walk in the park, so NATO and the new BLUFOR faction -of course, the Alliance- must struggle to defeat them muthafuckas. For the other factions, the Black Dogs will be the main OPFOR while the Legion is the main Independent faction. CSAT, AAF, FIA, and several additional OC factions are going to appear but I'm still deciding whether they'll be a BLUFOR, OPFOR or Independent. If you are unfamiliar with ARMA terms, let's just say the BLUFOR is the 'good guy', OPFOR is the 'bad guy', while the Independent can be either 'good guy' or 'bad guy' depending on the situation.**

 **I'm also planning on another Kuroinu crossover, now with For Honor. But I'm going to upload it after I finished several chapters for my Strike Witches fanfic, the main project I'm working on. I'm sorry, I'm feeling like a dick that after my lengthy hiatus, I'm creating another project instead of updating my current projects.**

 **Also please tell me who are your favorite characters in Kuroinu and/or ARMA series, so I won't have them killed or raped. But however, I'm not a guy who'll keep his promise though, LOL.**

 **And...Oh shit, it's a fucking wall of text up there. Anyway, don't forget to leave some reviews to improve my writing and gib follow and favorite to gimme more passions in writing this fic. Okay, that's all. Signing out!**


	2. Survive: Prelude to War (Part Alpha)

**DISCLAIMER: ARMA series belongs to Bohemia Interactive while Kuroinu belongs to Liquid. I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Well, this is it. An update.**

* * *

"Rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him." –Sun Tzu

* * *

 **A week ago**

For hundreds of years since the war in the continent of Eostia started, fortress cities were created to protect Eostian civilizations from the invaders from the Badlands in the North. Compared to the other settlements, fortress cities are safer places to live. One particular fortress city was Thorn, located in the Far East of the continent, several miles away from Ansur, its closest neighboring city.

Ever since its creation, the crime rate in Thorn was the second highest amongst the other city fortress after Ansur. Most of them are murder cases. This is true concerning the existence of conflicts between the landlords, clashes between political factions, and the marauding Rōnins who often goes killing rampage every night. Fortunately, since Kaguya was chosen as the protector of Thorn and formed the Sōheigumi, a law-enforcement force consisted of trained monks and shrine maidens, the cases have been severely reduced.

Still, that doesn't mean the crimes dropped to zero. Killing and murder are still rampant every night, despite the best effort of the law enforcer. The Sōheigumi was often criticized for their brutal methods —captures everything that's suspicious and slays any mysterious sword-carrying men— and accused to assassinate many figures to maintain the power of the current regime.

In the middle of the city, Royal Palace where the nobles resided, there was the shrine of Amaterasu, the largest temple in Thorn. The temple was also served as the headquarter of Sōheigumi and the place where Kaguya, the leader of Thorn and most priestess resided.

While the monks prayed and meditated inside the temple, the shrine maidens either wiped the temple floor or swept the yard. One particular shrine maiden with ponytailed pink hair noticed a beggar sitting near the entrance of the temple. The beggar wore a worn-out straw hat and a dirty, unkempt set of dark blue-colored Kimono.

Setting down the broom, the maiden made her way to the beggar. From inside her _Haori_ , she produces a bag of coin and gave it to the beggar. "Thank you, kind maiden," said the beggar.

"You're welcome, sir," the shrine maiden replied, eyeing him with a kind gaze from her grey eyes before returning to the temple.

The beggar quietly eyed the bag. He quickly placed it into his Kimono.

* * *

That night, as dogs and wolves alike howling in the street, as the large moon was high in the sky, a group of 8 men dressed in casual Samurai getup walked through the dark street. Each one of them brought a lantern which illuminated the street. A red-colored dog head insignia were embedded on both-chests part of their Kimono, signifying them that they are the member of the most famous mercenary group in Eostia, the Black Dogs, or as they are known in Thorn as the 'Kuroinu'.

As they walked passing an alley, they missed seeing another group of 10 warriors, also armed with Katanas hide behind the alley. The said armed warriors wore red and white iconic _Haori_. To conceal their identity, they either wear Kitsune mask(for females) or Oni mask(for males).

One of them, the leader who wore Kitsune mask took a peek to look at those Black Dogs mercenaries. Her ponytailed pink hair fluttered as a breeze of winds blown over her. After those mercenaries are nowhere to be seen, she looked back toward her comrades and said. "Let's go."

They quickly ran out from the alleys through the night, dimly-lit street. They later arrived in front of an old, two-stories inn, which several years ago had turned into Black Dogs' recruitment center and also their branch office in Thorn.

Upon arriving, the masked warriors drew their swords. They nodded to each other before they forcefully breached down the doors and stormed inside, which caught the Black Dogs staffs who were lazing around off guards.

"What the- Arrgghhh!" Without words to be said, the mysterious swordsmen and women quickly slain everyone in the room with no mercy. More Black Dogs came from the second floor with their Katana drawn, confronting those who dare to assault their office.

"Who's there?!"

However, fears soon appeared on their eyes after they noticed those mysterious assailants' masks, and their infamous red and white robes.

"Sōhei...gumi?!"

The leader of the masked warriors yanked her sword from a Black Dog she just killed, putting it back to its sheath. She looked at her enemies, shouting the ultimatum to the top of her lungs.

"To all remaining Black Dog mercenaries, this is an ultimatum from Lady Kaguya, the leader of Thorn. 'Surrender yourselves, or you all will be taken out by deadly force like your comrades'!"

One of the Black Dogs ignored her and charged. "Tch! Die!"

With unmatchable speed, the leader pulled her sword and slashed the mercenary, effortlessly killing him. Following their leader, the other Sōheigumi members charged at their enemies. Then, the brutal sword fight between both sides continued through the night.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the darkness of the street, the first group of Black Dog mercenaries rushed through the empty road. The leader of the group gritted his teeth after knew everything become fucked up.

Back when they had returned to the office from meeting their new allies in the planned upcoming war, they noticed the Sōheigumi was raiding the place, slaying every mercenary with no mercy. They know they were no match against the warrior monks and maidens. There was a rumor that one Sōheigumi is equal to 10 warriors. Rather than confronting them, the Black Dogs decided to flee and searched for hiding. The leader vowed that sooner or later, they will get their revenge against that Bitch Priestess and her guard dogs.

The group stopped when he saw a mysterious figure slowly walked toward them from the other side of the street. The only thing noticeable from that man was the straw hat he is wearing.

"Who's there?!" He tensed when he saw the mysterious person placed his hand on the Katana's scabbard on his waist. "What do you want?!"

In a sudden motion, the mysterious man running straight toward them.

"Kill him!" All of the mercenaries quickly drew their swords and charged at the straw hat-wearing man.

In a swift moment, the mysterious man unsheathed his sword, slashing and easily slain the first mercenary. He turned to the second mercenary and blocked his attack. The third Black Dog tried to use this opportunity to stab the mysterious man in the back, but his opponent quickly slashed the third mercenary's knee, causing him to lost balance. The mysterious man then stabbed the second mercenary in the chest then continued his attack by beheading the third mercenary.

The remaining Black Dogs were startled and moved backward several steps. In just several seconds, this man managed to finish 3 mercenaries without breaking a sweat. He then swung his sword, wiping the blood off the blade before getting into his swording stance.

"W-w-what are you doing?! It's just one man! Kill him!" Urged the leader, pushing one of his terrified men toward the assailant.

Not wasting any seconds to let the mercenaries retaliate, the straw hat-wearing swordsman charged forward in a swift moment, colliding sword with the remaining mercenary. In rapid succession, he managed to finish off his opponents, slashing and stabbing his enemy, leaving the mercenary leader alone who was shaking on his feet.

"No way…." Just a minute ago, there were 7 experienced swordsmen around him, but now, he is alone. The man in front of him isn't a human…. His hands were shaking as he watched as the mysterious assailant now pointed his sword at him. "Dammit….Goddammit!"

The mercenary leader furiously charged at the mysterious swordsman. The leader continuously tried to stab and slash the swordsman, using any small openings his opponent give. However, to no avail, the mysterious swordsman easily blocked and dodged all of his attacks. It was like that man was playing with him, causing the mercenary leader to once again tremble in fear.

"Fuck…you!" In final desperate attempt to kill the assailant, the leader tried a heavy, diagonal slash at his opponent.

Unfortunately, the mysterious swordsman saw it coming and collided his blade at his enemy's Katana weak point, shattering the blade into two. Not stopping, the swordsman then amputated the mercenary's right hand, causing him to scream in terror upon noticing his hand fell to the ground. The mysterious assailant then slashed both the mercenary's knees, causing him to stumble into his back.

"I-I yield! P-please! No more!" Yelled the mercenary as he cowered in fear whilst holding his amputated hand. The mysterious assailant slowly walked toward him. The mercenary helplessly tried to crawl away and kept begging for his life until the assassin spoke.

"Your Wakizashi….throw them away," Ordered the straw hat-wearing swordsman as he pointed his sword at the Black Dog.

"E-eh?"

"I don't like repeating myself," replied the swordsman again. A pair of dark red eyes stared menacingly at the mercenary.

"O-okay!" The mercenary quickly reached for his backup short sword and threw it away along with the scabbard. "There! I threw it!"

The swordsman didn't say anything he silently sheathed his sword, making the mercenary sighed in relief. The swordsman then walked closer, pulling up the mercenary from behind.

"W-what are you–" The mysterious swords then pulled the Black Dog into a blood choke, blocking the arteries on his neck which supplied blood into his brain. The mercenary tried to weakly struggle against his strong grip before finally lost his consciousness.

* * *

In the next morning, news about the purge soon spread to the entire Thorn. A lot of mercenaries and Rōnin bodies, most of which are Black Dogs were found in every district. Crowds of civilians gathered around the street next to a cemetery where 7 corpses belonged to members of the Black Dogs. Several Samurai checked those bodies for identity and clues to know who's the perpetrator —since there is no sign of Sōheigumi in the area last night— before loading them to a chart.

Inside a room in the monastery complex of Amaterasu shrine, a short-haired girl stood, facing the balcony which provided a great panoramic view of the city fortress of Thorn. The girl wore red and white shrine maiden robe, along with a pair of semi-transparent shawls on both her hands and golden head ornaments.

"I see…." Mused the girl as she kept staring at the fortress city with hands behind her back. "So, Kondo-dono and Hijikata-san successfully carried out the raid on both locations? Good."

"That was the first time I saw firsthand what police brutality looks like," Said a ponytailed black haired man who sat inside the room in deadpan expression. The man wore black kimono and grey loose pants. His head and dark red eyes kept staring down toward the floor.

"What do you mean?"

"Nevermind," The man shook his head and continued his report. "But…. Hijikata noticed something fishy. She said the Kuroinu members in the office is so few. They probably knew the Sōheigumi are coming, so they only left several members as baits and sacrificial pawns to give the other sometimes."

"I think I should speak with Kondo-dono about this matter," The shrine maiden nodded. She then turned her state at the young man. "How about you, Ryuuichi-kun? Did you manage to spy the Kuroinu movements, and their new 'client'?"

"Yes, I've followed the suspects. They met at hotel Otsu in Kamino red district. They reserved an entire floor, placing guards who posed as guests." The man, Ryuuichi confirmed. However, the look on his face was that of disappointment. "I'm sorry, Kaguya-dono. I can't take a closer look. I've alerted the Sōheigumi, but when they arrive, the place is empty. The receptionist gave them names, but I bet those might be fake. I'm really sorry."

"No, it's okay, Ryuuichi-kun," replied the girl, Kaguya with a smile, who's none other than the ruler of the city fortress of Thorn. "Those guys must've predicted that the Sōheigumi is on the move, purging everything that's suspicious."

"Kaguya-dono, I don't want to sound paranoid but I suppose maybe we should spy the Daimyos and High Priests. I have a feeling some of them might've conspired with the Kuroinu."

Upon hearing Ryuuichi's suggestion, Kaguya sighed. "I understand. Though, in the time like this, I don't know who I should trust…."

"You have the Sōheigumi," The man added bluntly.

The shrine maiden smiled sadly. She knew not everyone in that group was loyal to her. "I have a feeling that someday, some of them will stab in the back when I look away."

"You have me," Ryuuichi said again, causing Kaguya to stared at him again.

"But I can't use you every time—"

"Didn't I said I entrusted my life to you, Milady?" Replied Ryuuichi again, closing his eyes. His expression was still as stiff as ever.

"You don't understand…."

"Then, make me," All of the swordsman's one line replies made Kaguya frown and sighed deeply. She then closed the door toward the balcony and sat on the pillow in front of Ryuuichi.

"Also, I've another job for you," She made sure no one was listening to them in the hallway through the transparent paper door then continue as she shut her eyes. "I've arranged a meeting tonight, with an official from the Shishi. Saigo Katsumoto. You know him very well. I want you to discuss the current situation with Kuroinu, request ceasefire with them, and create an alliance to combat our common threat, the Kuroinu."

Her decision made Ryuuichi look up, stared at her Garnet eyes in surprise. "Kaguya-dono, are you sure that's a good idea? The Shishi….their main objective is to depose you."

The Henkaku Shishi was an infamous separatist rebel organization comprised of mostly low-class Samurai and Rōnin, aiming to overthrow Kaguya and 'freed Thorn —or as they call her Yamato which was the name of an old empire before it got….Thorned to pieces by Garan's invasion **(Kill me NOW!)** — from the western barbarian's influence'. Many sources claimed that they have over 2000 members with even greater numbers of sympathizers. Though they had clashed multiple times with Sōheigumi and Thorn loyalists which often caused numbers of death toll, the Shishi usually avoid violence and more focused on politics, cunningly shifting the public opinion against Thorn's government using propaganda & spreading news about Sōheigumi's brutality and how the current government 'oppress the people in the name of a fake Goddess'.

"I'm aware of that, but we don't have many choices. Those guys might be rebels, but I know they care about this city fortress more than anyone else," Kaguya stated her reason, smiling gently at the swordsman in front of her as she did. "Besides, I'm sending you to see if I can trust them or not."

"If you say so, I have no reason to doubt your decision," Ryuuichi nodded. He then kneeled in front of the Miko and bowed. "I'll excuse myself so you may meditate in peace, Kaguya-dono."

"Um, be safe," Kaguya watched as Ryuuichi stood and walked toward the exit door, opening then closing the paper sliding door. She listened to his footsteps faintly through the hallway until it disappears.

The shrine maiden the turned around, facing the praying altar inside her room where a sheathed sword, the Bakegiri Yasutsuna or 'Monster-slaying Yasutsuna' were displayed. A sword which was used by the first High Priest of Thorn, Seimei to slain thousands of invaders from Badlands in the opening stage of Eostia-Garan War, saving Thorn from further destruction and giving times to the Western forces to regroup and send reinforcement. Though, the one in her room was just a mere replica. No one knows where the real thing is.

Kaguya closed her eyes and started her meditation. However, her mind was still focused on something else.

 _"This debt….I'll try my hardest to repay it."_

As she thinks about the lone swordsman, Kaguya couldn't help but reminisce their first meeting in that snowy day.

 _"Sakamoto Ryuuichi. You've fully repaid your debt to me a long time ago but….why are you still here? Why are you still covering your hands with blood….for me?"_

The shrine maiden kept thinking aloud. Ever since his declaration to be her sword, Ryuuichi always accepted all the mission she gave, no matter how dangerous and morally questionable those missions were. One might wonder that Ryuuichi is only searching for a position or worse, a double agent to spy Kaguya, but she felt all his words and their friendship were sincere.

 _"Since when I cared about a man?"_

As a shrine maiden, she must stay pure from lust and any kind of mortal pleasure. All her life must be spent devoting herself to Gods and Goddesses and the duty of guarding this city against harm. She saw that young swordsman as her colleague and close friend. There's nothing wrong with that —despite many Daimyos and High Priests voicing their concerns that the ruler of Thorn having a relationship with a 'vagabond'—, but some parts of her see him as more than just friend.

She shook her head, trying to cleanse her thought as she meditates. But….

* * *

In the other side if the land, inside a small town close to the frontline, a company of Humvees and trucks were seen parked. Those vehicles were operated by the United States Marine Corps as part of the offensive NATO forces in Altis. However, the unit wasn't just any mundane grunt units, they were Charlie Company of the elite 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division. 'Carnivorous motherfucker' as they put it.

The town peoples curiously eyed those strange people's weird, sand-colored wagon. Not only that the wagon can move without being pulled by horses, but they also made strange rattling sounds and could move faster than a normal wagon. Not mentioning that the soldier themselves are weird. Their set of armors and metal crossbows were like nothing they've ever seen. The soldiers often spoke the vulgar language and cursed at each other offensively. They even sometimes spoke to themselves or the metal box inside their wagon. Well, at least, the peoples were glad the soldiers are friendly and mean them no harm.

As the company commander of the marines speaks with the town's chief in his office, the second platoon parked their vehicles near the town entrance as they minded their own business, either resting inside the vehicles, chatting with fellow squad mates, fraternizing with the locals, or….taking dump.

"Hey, Black! I forgot my baby wipes!" Several yards away from the town entrance, a marine who was taking dump shouted to his fellow marines as he sat an empty ammo crate —or shitter as they called it— he used as a toilet.

"Use your hand, you nasty thing!" His friend and superior, Staff Sergeant Henry Blackburn retorted as he cleaned his field striped standard issue M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle inside his Humvee.

"Come here and wipe my ass you heartless fuck!" The first marine, Sergeant Steve Campo replied angrily. He now wondered how he gonna wipe the stain on his…anus.

Meanwhile, on the other side, two marines were burying back the trashes of MRE packages and other consumed modern products they brought before ended up in this world. One of them, a blonde haired marine glanced to the other marines who were busy shitting. He sighed heavily.

"I'm fucking ashamed, dawg!" Corporal Leon Van Gogh told his friend. Despite being Dutch descent, he spoke in an accent that sounds like African-American because he grew up in Los Angeles South Central and made friends with many black kids. "Back in Altis, we don't leave any speck of Americana behind."

His friend, a brown-haired young marine stopped burying and stared at the shitting marine, most particularly Campo who still sit there waiting for some kind-hearted fellows to bring him baby wipes. Lance Corporal Wilbert Collins asked. "Bruh, could you imagine if the Greenbacks invade our country and they start shitting in people's suburban yards?"

"Not really…" Leon replied before continue burying his grave.

Meanwhile, in one of the medium truck, a female marine laid on the lowered driver chair as her legs rested on the dashboard. Her kevlar helmet was removed, showing her messy platinum braided bun hair. Her eyes were half opened, watching the scenery of beautiful, vast span of grassland serenely as she occasionally listened to the radio chatters.

 _"Enraged 2, this is Boogeyman Actual."_

 _"This is Enraged 2. Go ahead."_

 _"We've stumbled upon a friendly unit in a village thirty clicks from HQ. They claimed to be part of 'Bad' Company, 222nd Battalion, 111st Army Infantry Division. They said they won't leave the village in fear of bandits might destroy it. Relay that to Crossroad, will ya?"_

 _"This is Enraged 2. Solid copy. Interrogative: Do you know what Badland is? I heard from locals that a pack of 'giant dragonflies' were heading toward it."_

 _"Negative, I don't know a damn thing."_

"Yo, gunny!" Shouted a deep yet feminine voice, making the female marine to glanced at the source. Another younger female marine with tomboyish wavy short brown hair and hazel eyes approached the Gunnery Sergeant with a carefree smile. An M27 rifle was slung on her side. "What's up?"

"Nothing, just lazing around," the higher ranked marine, Gunnery Sergeant Regina Derringer replied. Before getting inducted into the recon battalion as Charlie 2 platoon senior advisor, Regina worked as a cook and DI in Parris Island. The female marine in front of her and her teams were several of the poor sods she had smoked during basic. But they knew that was just an act and Regina is actually a kind, easy going person. So, no hard feeling. "Where's your team, Rita?"

"Linda and Yumi decided to depose the charm- Errr, I mean handing candies to the kids. Sarge is on a mission. First combat jack in this world," Replied Corporal Rita Fernandez, the second of command of the second fireteam. Among her colleagues, she graduated Parris Island with the highest score, completed recon training like it was nothing, and was a primadonna among the grunts, because of her short body and busts size. Rita continued her report, sighed as she tried to remember where one of her friends went. "Donna. Geez, I don't know where she went. She said she wants to visit the magic and weapon store or shit like that. Goddamn Weeaboo."

"Good thing, Sergeant Major Jones isn't here or else you'll get your ass smoked, badly," Replied Regina with a chuckle, causing her former student to laugh sheepishly.

"Ehehehe."

They suddenly heard the children yells at each other. Glancing to the side, they saw a pair of children fought over a candy as Rita's squadmates handed more candies to the kids who gathered around.

"This candy is mine! I take it first!"

"No! That's mine!"

One of the marines tried to break up the fight by producing another pack of charms from her pocket. "Hey! Hey! Hey! Do not fight. We still have plenty."

This scenery caused Regina and Rita to giggles. "Even though this is a different world, there are still things that don't change, right?"

"Yup," As they stayed in silence, Regina quietly glanced at Rita as she leaned on the truck. The Gunnery Sergeant noticed the solemn look on the young marine. While tapping her plate carrier vest numerous times, she asked. "Hey, Gunny. I'm wondering why we ended up here? Can we really go back to the States?"

"I don't. This feels….so unreal. I hope this just the CSAT shiting on us," The platinum-haired marine sat up, staring at her former student curiously. "Why getting homesick?"

Rita sighed. Her head hung low. "I...I miss my dad. I wonder what he felt after knowing that I went MIA?"

"Me too. I miss my man, especially my little hero. I hope he ain't no sad that Mommy is missing. And I hope Larry doesn't use this opportunity to knock some Navy bitches or I'm going to bayonet his dick," Regina stated, half-jokingly at the latter part, making Rita to giggles. She didn't really mean it. Joke and humor are important to raise morale, other than being an ass so everyone will divert their hate on them. After all, raising the unit's morale is part of her job as Senior NCO.

"Your husband is a sailor?" The corporal asked.

"Yes. He is a Chief Engineering in USS Zumwalt."

As the marines chatted among themselves, a young marine with short blonde hair walked through the convoy. He noticed several civilian shepherds walked pass the convoy with their herds but the marines just ignored them as they chatted and slept. Some even stopped to look at the vehicles in a very close range. His overly laxed men made him furious.

"Why the fuck are there locals walking through our lines?" The Misfit 2 platoon commander and a newbie but horribly competent officer, Lieutenant Graham Rosenberg shouted, gaining the full attention of his marines. "Why the fuck is there nobody on watch? Come on! We are about to Oscar Mike!"

The marines quickly stopped their personal activity and checked their gears and equipment. The team leaders, Rita included relaying orders to their subordinates.

"Linda! Yumi! Finish your job and get back here!" The tomboyish marine shouted at her squadmates. The two marines, Corporal Linda Crawford and Corporal Yumi Nagumo high fived the children before returned to the convoy.

"Donna! Where the fuck did you go to?! Get up in the turret!" Regina told one of the marines. The said marine, Corporal Donna King rushed from inside the town to the convoy with a leather bag on her hand. The bespectacled Afro-American marine threw that bag into the Humvee through the open window before climbed to the gunner place where a Browning Mk 47 Automatic Grenade Launcher was mounted.

Rita scratched her head irritatedly. Ordering the team was the job of a team leader, beyond her pay grade. "And where the fuck is-"

 _"¿Me extrañas, señorita?(You miss me, girl?)"_ Asked someone who stood behind her in Spanish. It was a tall man with brown jarhead hairstyle and roughly shaved beard. He handed her a kevlar helmet. A seducing grin formed on his lips, annoying Rita even more.

 _"¡Haz tu trabajo, cabrón!(Do your job, dumbass!)"_ The corporal cursed as she snatched her kevlar from Sergeant Alex Sanchez, her team leader, leaving on a huff. She really wants to slit that guy's throat and shit down his neck, badly.

 _"Si. Si."_

As Donna adjusted the grenade launcher sight, wiping her sweaty braided hair in the process, the marine noticed something coming from the far end of the roads. She quickly turned her turret around, cocking and pointing it on the target.

"I got eight Victors bearing down on us fast!" She shouted. Two other marines marched to the side of her Humvee and had their M27 rifles aimed at the unknown Donna pointed at. Men on horsebacks.

Regina put out her binocular and observed them. She reported everything to Graham. "LT, I observe eight men on horseback armed with spears and lances. One of them brought what appeared to be staff, sir. I also noticed a red colored dog head flag with black background."

Graham quickly contacted the company commander, Captain Quinton Cole. "Misfit, this is Misfit Two Actual. Do you copy, over?"

 _"This is Misfit. Send traffic, over?"_

"Misfit, I am seeing armed unknowns on horsebacks, over?" Graham asked as the men lowered their spears and lances, seems to be ready for a charge. More marines aimed their rifles on them.

"We should smoke 'em, sir!" Exclaimed Campo who aimed at the one with staff.

However, their company commander's answer shocked everyone. _"Misfit Two, this is Misfit. Can you, uh... Can you wave them off? Over."_

"Misfit! These are armed unknowns with weapons pointed at us, over?!" Graham kept trying to reasons against his decision, to no avail.

 _"ROE states don't fire unless fired upon."_

The Lieutenant shook her head in disbelief. "This is Two. I'm requesting to at least snatch one victor, find out who these guys are, over?"

 _"Negative. Wave 'em off, Misfit out!"_

Graham sighed heavily and walked to the front of the lead Humvee. He waved off the armed civvies. The unknown armed men in horseback lowered their spears and turned around. The marines, of course, were displeased.

"Sir?"

"This sucks."

"What the fuck?!"

They waved back at the marines mockingly before rode their mounts away.

"I had a beautiful headshot!"

"We all did, brother."

In a sudden, the town chief appeared and ran toward the convoy. He shouted angrily at the marines.

"What are you doing?! Why did you let them get away?! Those are the Black Dogs!" The old man pointed at those men in horseback, who were no longer in sight. Hearing that, the marine just cursed. However, they didn't want to take the risks to chase after them. Those men could've laid some traps and ambushes for them.

"What the fuck was that?" Leon asked, staring in disbelief on what he just witnessed.

Rita answered him. "Our first contact with armed locals...and we wave them like bitches..."

"You know what you get when you quit the marine corps?" Asked Donna to Rita as she looked down from the turret. With a bitter smile, she continued. "You get your brain back…"

* * *

 **Author's Note : Well. That was it. The second chapter of this fic. After reading many fanfics in Kuroinu archives, my hands got all itchy to continue this fic after leaving it in dust for a year. I feels like an asshole for hanging the 41 people who followed this fic, but TBH, I can't help it! Real-life constantly shits on me. College, work, personal matters, etcetera, especially my original story project in Wattpad. Well, don't expect much from me.**

 **Back to the story, I've added the 'several additional OC factions' I've mentioned in the past chapter. Yup, the Sōheigumi and Henkaku Shishi. I'm a military geek, not only at modern military but also on medieval warfare. I'm also a sucker for Jidaigeki works, especially if it sets during the Bakumatsu era, the end of the Edo Period when Samurai started its decline. That's why I added those two factions, which were just discount Shinsengumi and Ishin Shishi, the real thing.**

 **And if anyone curious, Ryuuichi and Hijikata's appearances are respectively based on Ryunosuke Ibuki from Hakuouki Reimeiroku and Okita Souji from Fate/Grand Order. Yeah, I know what you're thinking about the latter. Because Sōheigumi is literally a Shinsengumi knock-off, Okita will appear, but I'll decided if I'm gonna genderbent him like Hijikata or not (Seriously, fuck you Type Moon).**

 **As you noticed, I split the chapter into two because I feel it'll be too long. Don't worry, I've finished the second part, just needed several editing. That's all for me. Stay tune for, moar!**


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